The "Legitimate Rape" episode was fantastic. It tackled two issues (1) the damage that people believing the "legitimate rape" argument (that a rape victim can't get pregnant) can cause and (2) rapists who can sue for visitation if their victims become pregnant and take the pregnancy to term. It was a really poignant and affecting episode and I still feel sick thinking about it closely. Lauren Cohan did an amazing job as the victim.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

I thought the legitimate rape ep was extremely well acted, but I'm disappointed by how it turned out. Maybe that's the point? Agree with Tofulish, actress playing the victim was amazing.

_________________I would eat Dr. Cow pocket cheese in a second. I would eat it if you hid it under your hat, or in your backpack, but not if it was in your shoe. That's where I draw the line. -allularpunk

Yes, and the end was poignant, because the only solution for her to get away from her rapist was to commit a crime and become a fugitive. What happens to people who can't hop a private plane and don't want to leave the US, their family, friends, jobs etc?

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

Right?! I had to be reminded that it was an actor playing a role. He was superb. Extremely creepy.

_________________I would eat Dr. Cow pocket cheese in a second. I would eat it if you hid it under your hat, or in your backpack, but not if it was in your shoe. That's where I draw the line. -allularpunk

I thought that episode was really good. Unfortunately, it was familiar to me as a teacher. It reminded me of a student with similar issues I had and the countless meetings with his parents (with school psychologist, social worker, guidance, Etc) and how they refused to have an evaluation. Blah! Such a difficult situation.

I really thought the parents did a great deal showing their confusion and their hope that he'd grow out of it and that they didn't want to "ruin" his future with an evaluation that would remain as part of his permanent record, and the rather underprepared school counselor, who was working with the pediatrician to prescribe meds, rather than having a psychiatrist take over because that had less stigma. So interesting.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

They did make that school counselor look like a tool...but thinking back on it, the full context was that this was a private school after he had been kicked out of other schools...so many educators had given their professional opinions to the parents that he needed more help.

Tofulish--I thought of the NY Times article, too! It seemed like that was the headline it was ripped from. Especially with the way the children reacted to other people doing something that they did not like or not being allowed to do something they wanted to do.

_________________I would eat Dr. Cow pocket cheese in a second. I would eat it if you hid it under your hat, or in your backpack, but not if it was in your shoe. That's where I draw the line. -allularpunk

Holy shiitake the latest episode on Hulu (Girl Dishonored) is triggering the shiitake out of me.

Its basically a compilation of the Steubenville, Audrie Pot, Rehtaeh Parsons and other rape cases and it makes me want to cry and stab things. Oh and the campus police part is an amalgamation of Amherst College, Wesleyan University, and a couple others. The victims report similar stories of deans and campus security brushing them off. Wesleyan had the fraternity called the "rape factory." Amherst had a dean and counselor that swept issues under the rug/victim blamed.

I thought the scene with the signs was really touching; thank you for sharing the photo project, Tofulish. It seems like they may have based it on that?

I'm sorry it was triggering for you. My hope for episodes like this is that it really gets people to think about consent, slut shaming, and ... I'm not sure how to put it. Almost like the pressure for women to be agreeable and not cause trouble. I guess you could say all rape victims in this context, not necessarily all women, but overall I feel like women are expected to be the flexible problem solvers and just let things blow over.

In other news, I think the Law & Order: SVU facebook people are effing with us. They're all like, would you like to see Chris Melotti back? How is that even a question?!

_________________I would eat Dr. Cow pocket cheese in a second. I would eat it if you hid it under your hat, or in your backpack, but not if it was in your shoe. That's where I draw the line. -allularpunk

I think they did a good job on the episode, especially the campus security guy, where he talks about how he has to keep them from driving drunk and getting killed doing stupid things so he doesn't have time to police their bedrooms. It made it so clear that (1) campus security is presented with so many challenges that they need to deal with and are understaffed and (2) that they don't take rape seriously. Lots of the language was so familiar from recent cases, so they clearly did their research well. They also did a great job with the brutality of the assault and the victim describing it in the hospital and on the stand - it was clear this wasn't "sex gone wrong" so having the campus police and deans describe it as such was really eye-opening. I also liked the discussion about how colleges keep reports of sexual violence down and why. I also thought the Steubenville-like video at the end was great, because it showed how unrepentant the frat was and loved the poster tribute.

I thought it was unfortunate that they had the girl who kills herself be a homeschooled, sheltered kid with an overprotective mom from upstate NY. I think all that focus on her background was subtly othering and victim/mom-blaming, like a kid who was better prepared for the world wouldn't have killed herself, which we know isn't the case. I thought it was unnecessary and wish we'd spent more time on other aspects of the case.

I don't know how I feel about the having the DA say that serial rapists are sociopaths, so they needed to find the one guy who was accused once and not again, because he was the one who would feel guilt and be the weak link.

It was a good episode - maybe they took a little too much on in one episode and I did not like the "othering" of the victim who was homeschooled, but apart from that excellent.

And yes please Chris Meloni.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

So many parts of Renee’s story ranging from her broken home, to corrupt school judicial policy, to being forcibly committed to a Psych Ward, came from me.

It’s sickening, appalling, and unnerving to realize that the worst experiences of your life have been condensed into 45 minutes of cable TV drama.

Granted, the episode was powerful and the writers did a good job squishing all of my survivor friends’ and my stories together to make a whole, but at what cost? I feel like I’ve been stolen from, cheated out of the chance to tell them how the story should go. My main problem was the episode’s ending, with disgustingly optimistic tone, for, as I mentioned earlier, the corrupt school officials and rapists are brought to trial and Renee decides to return to school.

Yes, Survivors have been more vocal than we have in years and have founded collectives to remind ourselves that we’re not alone and can keep fighting.

No, the rapists are not always brought to trial, and, if they are, they are not necessarily found guilty or given sentences that are equitable to their crimes.

No, almost all school officials don’t resign, even if they’ve been found guilty of covering up sexual assaults.

Survivors often end up between the two extremes of Lindsey and Renee, realizing that you’re not broken and that life can continue is a hard fought battle, that SVU only briefly touched upon.

And no, the local police do not come running to the rescue to save the day.

Crime shows capitalize off of human suffering and the firm knowledge that other people love being reminded that “at least you’re not this person, so your life’s pretty great.” There is no way to eradicate such shows, but I do believe that NBC and SVU have a responsibility to give back to Survivors after they decided to borrow our stories.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

I can't really watch it these days. All the random violence against women and children freaks me out. I saw the one where the Captain wakes up with a dead hooker and I had nightmares for weeks.

Oh yeah I loved SVU up until about 2 years ago and then it just freaked me out. Also, no Meloni? Pfft.

There has been such an increase in visual aspects of violence towards women in both L/O and CSI in the past couple of years. A desensitization towards violence against women, seemingly making it normal?Having said that, I really do like L/O. It's I think the only show I really watch these days.

Hulu has all of the episodes of the entire series available, so I'm going back through season 1. It's amazing how much it's changed! It had this kitschy cop-show feel and a fun fast cadence. And I freaking LOVE season 1 Munch! It's kinda nice to go back to those episodes where the subject matter is serious but the imagery is not nearly as graphic/disturbing. Also, Stabler in man-panties.

_________________Ridiculous people on the internet are consistently ridiculous. -pandacookie

I've watched every single episode from the beginning in the past few months and I seriously fell in love with Stabler (and Olivia a little bit) over the course of the first few seasons. This show has to be in my top 3 favorite shows ever. It can be graphic, and does make me a little paranoid when I'm out and about by myself now, but maybe that's a good thing?? I'm always on the defensive.

Also, I love me some Ice T. He get's in some amazing one liners every few episodes and I was seriously crying in the one where his son's fiance was almost beat to death. His little speech to him at the end was so touching.

I just got the True Blood season 5 DVDs and have watched about 6 episodes. I like to think that the shows are happening concurrently, and that Stabler became a vampire after turning in his papers (or maybe before, and that's really why he quit?).

_________________Ridiculous people on the internet are consistently ridiculous. -pandacookie

So, I just tried to watch the latest episode and didn't get more than about 15 minutes in. I've watched only sporadically this season, and I think I'm out for the rest of it. This whole thing with Olivia's kidnapping is just WAY too intense, and it makes me incredibly uncomfortable. I can't even imagine the triggering of this season for people who have had any similar experiences. It's like they're just trying to be as extreme as possible now or something.

_________________Ridiculous people on the internet are consistently ridiculous. -pandacookie

Yes, that storyline is horrible. I watched the last episode of the last season, and didn't watch any of the related ones this season. Because I just can't. It really is turning me off SVU at this point. I kind of cheat and read the summaries (there are really detailed ones online), but I couldn't watch the episodes.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

I thought Amaro's 180 was really great. It wasn't a sex crime, but one of the good old fashioned L&O episodes with a lot of twists. It did a great job showing how when we think what happened during a police shooting was clear, really isn't and showing the amount of politics involved (like offering him a plea on the condition he pled to a hate crime) and the impact to the officer. It was hard to watch Amaro in those scenes and think that he would really be as quick to step in to help a fellow officer next time.

It was thoughtprovoking and generally excellent. I miss non-triggering Law and Order

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.